BEIJING – China’s top 21 securities brokerages said on Saturday that they would collectively pledged to invest at least $ 19 billion of their own money into stocks.

China’s government, regulators and financial institutions are now waging a concerted campaign to prop up the nation’s two main share markets, amid fears that a meltdown would rock the financial system and inflict heavy losses across an economy where annual growth is already running at a 24 year low.

The brokerages met on Saturday in Beijing to discuss the market situation and expressed “Full confidence” in the development of china’s capital markets, a statement of the Securities Association of China said.

twenty one securities brokerages will jointly invest 15 per cent of net assets as of the end of June or less than 120 billion yuan ($19.3 billion) , in blue chip exchange traded funds,” China’s top brokerages said.

The brokerages would not sell as long as the Shanghai composite remained below 4500 points. The index fell 5.8 percent on Friday to end at 3,684 points.

Listed securities companies among the 21 brokerages, along with their major shareholders, also would pro-actively buy back shares, the statement said.

Now Beijing has been struggling to find a policy formula to restore confidence in stock markets.

After the share market close on Friday, the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) said that China would cut initial public offering and capital risings and support long-term investors entering the market to help stabilise prices.

The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) also rolled over 250 billion yuan of medium-term loans to bans late on Friday to ensure adequate liquidity in the system.

Chinese stocks had more than doubled between November and mid-June, fuelled largely by retail investors using borrowed money.

Investors say constant tinkering with monetary policy and regulations to try to temper the stock market slide raises wider questions about whether China is ready to open up its capital markets and have more influence in the international financial system.